Jenny Craig

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I was used to overeating all of the time. I walked in at Jenny Craig and my first interaction with them was fine except that they were slightly understaffed. I also have access to Nutrisystems website. Which of these diet programs are worth your money? Three are support-only plans that don't require you to buy their food, and five are food-delivery plans. I know, wishful thinking, right?

Weight Watchers

The three levels are ultimately aimed at delivering weight loss by teaching the dieter to eat what they like — but in smaller portions. Part of the plan teaches the client how to boost their energy levels given their reduced amounts of food consumption, through simple and manageable physical activities.

Our first indication that this may be a rough review were the slew of customer comments on price. A little research into cost and we were flat-out shocked. This is how much it costs to start on the respective program. We always recommend trying a product before making a large investment.

The Jenny Craig Diet claims to help clients achieve their desired weight goal by using the three elements of food, body and mind. The program specifically mentions that no food is a taboo, however they claim to help dieters become mindful of the number of calories that are in the foods they eat.

This way a person can dictate the amount of food they will consume in a sitting depending on the weight they want to lose or maintain. The element of the body is as important as dieting is.

According to the program, a person must be physically active for the digestion of food to happen effectively. To produce the maximum energy required by the body to function adequately, you need to stay active.

The program provides work out strategies that they say are client-friendly, simple and not too time-consuming. The third element they focus on is the mind. An official of the program, Mr. It has been scientifically proven that people animals and plants that live in a positive, encouraging and supportive environment tend to thrive more, but no research backing this plan specifically.

The Jenny Craig program claims to provide their clients with a support system and a set of affirmations that the clients can recite daily. Customers are also promised a weight-loss counselor on standby and a forum where the they can encourage each other. To us, this all sounds fine — except for one thing. We still need to determine whether this diet works, because all this talk of high costs and lack of scientific evidence has us a bit worried at the moment.

After its conception in Australia and USA the program slowly grew in popularity. Jenny Craig, who is the founder of the company together with her husband, later sold this diet plan to Nestle in The Jenny Craig diet consists of prepackaged foods that already have the calories counted for you.

Generally, these foods are frozen and are meant for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. The program advises the clients that indulge this diet plan to supplement each meal with fresh fruit, non-dairy products and vegetables for maximum satisfaction. Jenny Craig meal plans do not dismiss or promote any specific foods. The numerous prepackaged foods do not have a limitation to what is considered healthy or not. However according to WebMD , the program leans more toward low fat, low calorie foods that have high water, fiber and protein content.

But in the case of vegetables and fruits such as broccoli, oranges and tomatoes, one can have as many as they want. Alcoholic beverages are also allowed occasionally. After a while, when the client has shown growth and ability to stand on their own without the support, the program also teaches them how to do Jenny Craig meal planning at home.

How does one do this? First, you need to buy yourself a weighing scale. An electronic one is preferable because it shows your weight to the last point which makes it more accurate and easier to track your weight loss.

Once you have your weight recorded, you can then calculate the number of calories you should be eating each day to lose weight. Using an online BMI calculator is also advised. Get yourself linked to a weight loss friend, a dietitian or counselor. Someone who will be there for you whenever you needed them.

As mentioned earlier, having someone who believes in you and relates to your struggles is very important in making any positive progress. You should be able to have a set amount of time, say 20 minutes each day, where you meet and talk with your weight loss partner about your progress. By doing this, not only will you have an accountability partner who will always keep you in track and help you if you slipped, you will also have the motivation to do better because no one likes being a disappointment.

The next and maybe most important thing is to stock up on the low-calorie foods. Throw away all the high calorie and high fat foods in your house and anything over-processed. Remember the program does not ban any type of food, but chemical and synthetic products are not qualified as food. Instead buy and keep in large quantities whole foods, low dairy foods, fruits and vegetables of your liking, proteins such as lentils and black beans, nuts, chicken preferably skinless, canned fish and water.

You should then try as much as possible to cook these foods in very little oil. Deep frying should be in very limited occasions if any. The next step then is to take the calorie chart that you made when you recorded your weight and divide it into 6 meals that you will be taking throughout the day.

For example, if the calories that you are required to take to lose weight are a day, then you are supposed to make 6 meals, each carrying calories and eat them. A day has twenty-four hours, but are for sleeping so you will be working with roughly 18 hours. This means that the 6 meals should have a three-hour spacing. You can choose to have all the meals with the uniform number of calories or, make some meals like breakfast heavier than day time snacks. You can start with as little as 20 minutes and work your way up gradually.

The trick is to be consistent and disciplined. At this point it is advisable to have a food journal where you can be recording what you had for every meal and whether you stuck to the calories.

You can also record the length of time you exercised and what specific workouts you did. This is important to keep yourself on track and to also monitor your progress. You should also toss anything that might trigger you to snack or eat more than you should. Make sure to keep in constant communication with your health partner and dietitian being absolutely open with them. It is better to admit that you failed or slipped than to act like everything is fine while in real facts you are failing.

Using these steps, apparently, will give you your very own Jenny Craig at home. Does this diet program work? At the high cost of the diet plan, will we actually lose weight? According to WebMD many people can attest to the fact that the plan worked for them.

The plan also works great for vegetarians and those that do not consume gluten since there are a variety of options. However, the diet is not good for vegans because almost all the prepackaged foods have some levels of dairy in them. According to a review of previous studies, it was seen that obese adults that were put on the Jenny Craig diet plan showed a 4. Everyone burns calories differently, and for some, counting calories can be a bad thing.

Of course there are a few foods that do not suit my taste such as the eggs frittata; however, most of the foods are delicious. For breakfast I can eat pancakes, blueberry pancakes, cinnamon buns or oatmeal. There are many other breakfast foods to choose from also. For lunch I can eat hearty minestrone soup or choose from many other menu items. Nutrisystem also offers great dinners, snacks and desserts. Following the Nutrisystem plan is easy and I am seeing results.

I wish the weight melted off easier, but it took a while putting it on and so I expect it'll take time getting it off too. I had tried losing weight on my own a few times but it was too hard to count calories and weigh out all of my food what a time sucker! I always got discouraged about losing the weight. With Nutrisystem I have not became discouraged because Nutrisystem makes the plan so simple to follow. While it's not fresh food the meals are frozen , it still just as great tasting.

Speaking frankly, I was really afraid that I would hate the Nutrisystem food. I gave the food a try thinking it would taste like cardboard. However, I was completely wrong, the Nutrisystem food is delicious. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and all my snacks provided by Nutrisystem are tasty. My wife loves me being on the Nutrisystem diet too. She is very impressed with the progress I have made losing weight. She just makes dinner for the family and I eat my Nutrisystem meal.

Nutrisystem is a great diet plan that I personally think can help anyone lose weight. Let's be honest here, does any man like to cook? Not only do I not like to cook, I just don't have the time to cook. That's why Nutrisystem really appealed to me when my doctor recommended it. I am a busy man who works 80 hours a week. I am also single.

I just don't know how to cook, so I eat fast food quite often. I also eat at restaurants often too. The reason I go out to eat so often is because I am single, busy and do not know how to cook. Going out to eat is just easier than learning how to cook. But eating out is expensive and has caused me to quickly add on 30 pounds that I no longer wanted.

I thought if I pay to go out to eat everyday I might as well pay to eat this healthy food and lose some weight. The best part of the Nutrisystem plan is that I do not have to prepare the food and it still tastes great. I am losing weight eating healthy delicious foods. I'm happy and so is my doctor who was telling me I needed to lose weight. I have lost nine pounds since I started the diet. With Nutrisystem you get to chose from many foods that are already prepared for you.

You also get a daily menu planner and a diary to log your success in. Nutrisystem also provides a website that includes articles, weight loss stories, blogs, chat rooms and a live counselor who is available 24 hours a day for support. With the Nutrisystem plan I go online everyday and log onto Nutrisystems website to see my progress.

I also check the discussion group forums and talk to other men who are trying to lose weight. I enjoy using the Nutrisystem web site. The Nutrisystem plan is so simple to follow. I really can not think of any other diet plan that is as simple to use as Nutrisystem. The food Nutrisystem offers is also excellent. My favorite food from Nutrisystem is the beef stew. I love beef stew and I would not want to give it up for a diet.

However, with Nutrisystem I do not have to give up beef stew because Nutrisystem offers a beef stew dinner. I have been on the plan for about one month now and have alreasy lost seven pounds which wasn't happening with Bistro MD.

I'm happy to say that losing weight has never been easier. The Nutrisystem plan is very easy to follow and simple to understand. I get to eat three meals a day plus a snack and a dessert. As soon as I start to feel hungry I get to eat again. With Nutrisystem I get access to the Nutrisystem website tools too. The website is wonderful. I can log on and talk to other people from all over the world who are trying to lose weight. The other people on the website inspire me to want to lose more weight and become even healthier.

The people on the website inspire to me to stick with the plan until I reach my goal. It's a great support group. The Nutrisystem website also provides me with access to a counselor who is available 24 hours a day to chat with if I have any questions.

It's working for me and I know it will work for you too. Now if I can only get my wife on it. I need more support! I have been using Nutrisystems plan for about two months now.

I thought for sure when I started the plan that I would probably have at least one thing to complain about it; however, I was wrong. Nutrisystem truly is a great plan. Any problems that you may read about online are obvioulsy one off items and not a consistent trend. The basic plan is extremely easy to follow.

It comes with specific instructions on how to follow it. It also comes with some great dieting tools. The best part of the plan is that it comes with healthy foods that are already prepared for me to eat. Food wise, I love the vegetable beef soup; it is one of my favorite things to eat for lunch.

I love to eat the chili with beans for dinner. So far, I love all of the foods I've tried. I haven't found one that wasn't edible. Even the desserts and snacks taste darn good. And unlike other diets, with Nutrisystem I don't crave junk food because I get a treat everyday in the meal plan: I have needed to lose weight for quite awhile and am just glad that I'm finally doing something about it.

I am very satisfied with the basic plan. Like most guys I know, I love to eat! I was always afraid of going on a hard core diet plan because I did not want to give up great tasting foods. With the Nutrisystem plan I have not had to give up any of my usual great tasting foods. Hats off to Nutrisystem for figuring out how to get great tasting food in a small package that is so easy to prepare - just stick it in the microwave and you're eating in 5 minutes.

So far, my favorite is the mushroom risotto, the chicken with dumplings, and the chili with beans, the flame broiled beef patty, the barbecue sauce pork wrap, the chocolate chocolate chip pudding, the chocolate crunch bar, the chocolate chip cookie, the creamy tomato sauce, the blueberry pancakes and the blueberry muffins.

I could go on and on about the rest of Nutrisystems dishes but I'm making myself hungry ;- I enjoy eating all of Nutrisystems foods. I do not think I have found a food that I did not like yet.

Do not be afraid of having to give up eating great food because you're still goign to get great food with Nutrisystem. Nutrisystem is a great diet plan for anyone - especially men. I get to eat great food that is already prepared for me everyday. All I have to do is follow the basic directions for following the plan and eat the Nutrisystem foods. The best part about the Nutrisystem plan is that I lost seven pounds since I started it a month ago.

Nutrisystem also supplies its members with a member website. The website helps individuals on the plan stay motivated. The website is a place where anyone who is on the plan can go for support. I enjoy logging onto the website and seeing the progress that I have made. I also enjoy reading inspiring stories from others on the Nutrisystem plan that have lost weight. Luckily though, Nutrisystem offers many different foods to choose from.

Nutrisystem is also adding new food items to the menu all of the time. Always good to keep the variety up. The Nutrisystem plans foods are also healthy. Nutrisystem has empowered me to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

As an added bonus, I now do allthe cooking for my girlfriend, which has really helped our love life. After all, who can't throw an extra dish int he microwave for 5 minutes? Give it a try guys and I expect your girlfriend will be just as happy as mine is. I have lost 20 pounds in three months and haven't been exercising at all.

Just like their marketing says, the plan really does allow you to eat healthy while losing weight. The foods are very easy to clean up when I am finished also. Just throw the microwave safe container in the trash. What more could you ask for? I take my frozen lunch with me to work and I can get more work done while losing weight! The plan is also very simple to follow, just follow their instructions.

The oldest national weight-loss program, its members rave about the encouragement they get at weekly meetings led by former Weight Watchers dieters. Nutritionists praise the portion-control points system: Each food is assigned points based on its serving size, calories, fiber, and fat; and no foods are forbidden.

Your point allowance is based on your weight, height, gender, age, and activity level. A recent clinical study in the New England Journal of Medicine linked group counseling sessions to weight-loss success. That explains why Weight Watchers has impressive short-term results. A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed participants lost an average of about 5 percent of their body weight 10 pounds in six months. Two years later, they had kept about half the weight off.

After that, you get free lifetime membership. The company says members using its online tools in addition to attending meetings lost 50 percent more weight than those going to meetings alone.

Cost to lose 20 pounds: We looked at two plans from eDiets — one that offers support alone, and another with meal delivery. You can choose from among more than 20 diet plans, including ones for diabetics and vegetarians. Online tools let you set goals, plan menus and generate shopping lists. The optional meal delivery service offers freshly prepared, calorie-controlled meals delivered in a cooler. But telephone support has some evidence in its favor: Cost per pound of weight loss: No — for about the same money, other services offer better track records.

For the first two weeks, you eat three extremely low-carb meals a day plus two snacks. You can customize menus, search a database of more than 1, recipes and get a personalized shopping list. Studies have shown that after one year, carb-restricted diets led to greater weight loss and increased heart health than low-fat diets.

However, the advantage disappeared over the long term. How much can you expect to lose? Figure on 8 to 13 pounds during the two-week kick-start phase, then 1 to 2 pounds a week thereafter.